A recent survey of Sunshine Coast businesses found that, much like their counterparts across the country, local entrepreneurs are worried about surviving the impacts of the COVID pandemic.
But people working to help ensure those businesses do survive say many are already adapting, innovating and forming new partnerships to meet the challenge.
Eighty-five per cent of the business owners that responded to the survey – organized by the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization (SCREDO), area Chambers of Commerce, the Sechelt Downtown Business Association (SDBA) and Sunshine Coast Community Futures – reported a drop in revenue.
Twenty-seven per cent said they are now effectively closed for business and have no revenue at all.
About 80 per cent of the respondents represented businesses with fewer than 10 employees and 44 per cent said they were “livelihood entrepreneurs” or independent workers.
SCREDO executive director Colin Stansfield said many of the small business owners may not qualify for federal emergency programs to supplement their individual incomes because they’re still earning some revenue. Others may not have big enough payrolls to qualify for supports, may not be in a position to carry emergency loans or may not have the cash flow to cover employee wages, even with a subsidy.
One of the biggest worries identified was being able to meet rents or other obligations – 74 per cent said they either can’t make payments or are unsure of their ability to make payments.
As part of their response to the difficulties highlighted in the survey, SCREDO, the Chambers, the SDBA and Community Futures have put together a Business and Economic Recovery Task Force and set up a Sunshine Coast Business Recovery Centre.
“For us in a moment like this it’s about rallying our local partners to make sure that our response is strategic and serves the community in the best way possible,” Stansfield said.
Janice Iverson, executive director of Community Futures, said the task force and recovery centre will help businesses “come back on line and build recovery plans that get them back into business as quick and safely as possible and even perhaps looking at coming back stronger than ever.”
Iverson said, as an organization, Community Futures is offering emergency loans of up to $25,000, top-ups on loans to current clients and deferred payments.
West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky MP Patrick Weiler has been meeting regularly with the business community on the rollout of federal programs. Weiler told Coast Reporter that details of federal supports for the tourism sector, a major part of the riding’s economy, are still being worked out.
“A lot of the existing programs work for a lot of businesses, but for businesses like tourism, a wage subsidy is not really going to do much when there’s no work for people to have. One of the things we’ve been discussing is whether it might be possible to have the wage subsidy later down the road, so when these businesses are going to be starting back up, and they may be facing reduced revenues but enough to open, that wage subsidy could really mean a huge difference.”
Stansfield and Iverson said they’ve been impressed with the ways local businesses are already making changes to keep themselves afloat and help the community.
Iverson points to examples like the Coast’s three distilleries, which have now added hand sanitizer to their product mix and the cideries and breweries that are partnering with local grocers and bakers on delivery services.
Another partnership, which is getting direct help from Community Futures in the form of start-up financing, is Sunshine Coast Food Service Response run by Wheatberries Café, Drift restaurant in Gibsons and Ginger Jars.
“The owners realized that nutritious food and getting it out in an efficient manner would be key in this crisis,” Iverson said. “They went back to work in their commercial kitchens and are now producing nourishing frozen food that is available at the IGA, for a reasonable price, and also distributing some of that food through the local food banks.”
The newest initiative to support local businesses, Sunshine Coast Gift Cards, is being spearheaded by the SDBA, with support from SCREDO and Community Futures. The “buy now shop later” program offers gift cards online for future use with money from the gift card purchases going directly to the businesses every week – even if they’re currently closed.
“With the challenges we all face right now with COVID-19, many of our local and small businesses on the Sunshine Coast are suffering greatly,” Theressa Logan, SDBA executive director, said in a release announcing the launch of the program. “We need to adapt quickly and pivot now to help keep the lights on and save our local economy.”
As of April 7, nearly 30 businesses were listed at www.sunshinecoastgiftcards.com
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